Families salute local soldiers

A new Veterans Day tradition took root in Colchester Sunday, when 13 families of local residents who are deployed in the armed forces tied yellow ribbons to a large oak tree on the town’s veterans green.

A new Veterans Day tradition took root in Colchester Sunday, when 13 families of local residents who are deployed in the armed forces tied yellow ribbons to a large oak tree on the town’s veterans green.

The yellow ribbon ceremony was the work of a special committee of residents, including parents of deployed service members. The ribbons will stay on the tree until each service member comes home.

Ann McLaughlin, of East Hampton, is spreading the yellow ribbon program around Connecticut, her daughter, Donna, said.

“She’s ‘Commander in Chief’ of the program,” Donna McLaughlin said.

Staff Sgt. Aaron McLaughlin, who is Donna’s son and Ann’s grandson, served a tour in Iraq and another in Afghanistan. He is a Purple Heart recipient.

“My grandmother wanted to recognize veterans coming home,” Aaron said. “It’s grown and grown, now to Colchester, and we hope it progresses from town to town.”

Matthew O’Leary, serving with the Connecticut National Guard, was the first town resident to have his ribbon tied to the tree.

The ceremony included the Girl Scouts, local clergy, the St. Andrew’s Church chorus group, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion Post 54, Patriot Guard Riders, Parents of Soldiers Together and the Colchester Antique Veterans paying tribute to soldiers past and present.

“We should always remember what they are giving up for us to be free,” First Selectman Gregg Schuster said.

The families of those servicemen and women also deserve recognition, Schuster said.

“They’re the ones putting together the care packages, waiting for the late-night phone calls just to say ‘hi,’ to their loved ones, and praying every day for them to come home safely,” he said.

Resident Dan Henderson returned in September from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division.

Henderson said that while he was at Fort Bragg, he would tell other soldiers about the support he was receiving from his small hometown.

“I would get calls from people I had never met before asking me what I needed while I was deployed,” he said. “That’s what I took great pride in, and I appreciated that support from my community.”

Now, Henderson is himself supporting a deployed service member. His fiancee is on her way to Afghanistan.

“It is much more difficult being home, worrying about that loved one and doing everything you can to support them,” he said.